Office of Economic and Workforce Development

Office of Economic and Workforce Development

Obesity is rampant, food-borne illnesses are rising and the food supply chain is now global, leaving all but the largest food manufacturers scrambling to compete. How can smaller companies create healthier products, improve food safety and increase efficiencies, when they lack in-house resources? A new effort in southeastern Pennsylvania aims to address this with a center that pools Penn State, industry and other resources to help the food processing industry become more competitive.

Twenty-four percent of Pennsylvania's 12.3 million residents live in small, rural towns. These residents rely on their community hospitals for emergency medical care. "The hospital is the anchor of health care in any rural community," said Lisa Davis, director of the Pennsylvania Office of Rural Health. "Keeping these hospitals viable is absolutely essential." A new academy is helping to improve the supervisory and management skills of more than 100 participants from rural hospitals, emergency medical services units and health-care providers.

When a group representing small hospitals in rural Pennsylvania--the Pennsylvania Mountains Healthcare Alliance, based in DuBois--needed a broadband central data network for its members to share critical medical specialist expertise and improve patient care, it turned to the Pennsylvania Technical Assistance Program (PennTAP), part of Penn State Outreach's Office of Economic and Workforce Development. A PennTAP information technology specialist visited each of the member hospitals, analyzed their current IT infrastructure and developed a strategy for creating a secure and cost-effective network. The result, once realized, is a cost savings projected to be more than $200,000 annually.

More businesses and organizations in the Pennsylvania Wilds -- a region in northcentral Pennsylvania teeming with elk and other wildlife -- will gain exposure to potential visitors across the world with high-speed Internet, thanks to the Pennsylvania Technical Assistance Program (PennTAP), part of Penn State Outreach's Office of Economic and Workforce Development.

One of the top questions on the minds of Pennsylvania landowners these days is how much money might they see in royalties from drilling natural gas in the Marcellus Shale. While individual royalties will vary, Penn State's Workforce Education and Development Initiative has released its forecast of the potential impact of increased royalty income. According to the report, natural gas royalty income will create a positive impact on Pennsylvania employment, economic output, personal income and population.

"The Workforce Innovation in Regional Economic Development initiative, known as WIRED, is based on a recognition that competitiveness depends on a region's ability to unite people, capital and infrastructure. Higher education institutions are embedded in global knowledge networks, yet they are local and tied to regions. That drives the innovation life cycle. [Penn State] can be a catalyst for regional economic development, through strong collaboration and strategic partnerships. You are well positioned to drive regional talent development."

-- Emily DeRocco, former assistant secretary for the Employment and Training Administration at the U.S. Department of Labor and the new senior vice president of the Washington, D.C. -based National Association of Manufacturers.

Universities, with their vast resources, are increasingly playing an important role in regional economic and workforce development, often becoming the catalyst for economic change in an area. In an effort to strengthen Penn State's position in the national dialogue on university involvement in regional competitiveness, Penn State Outreach has established the position of visiting senior policy fellow in economic and workforce development in its Office of Economic and Workforce Development. Emily Stover DeRocco, former assistant secretary for the Employment and Training Administration at the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), has been appointed the first visiting senior policy fellow.

Workers in four states will soon have increased access to education that will prepare them for high-growth jobs in their regional economy. A new Web-based portal will provide adult learners with information on online certificate and degree programs that respond to work force needs as identified by the individual states. The initiative is an effort among Penn State's Office of Economic and Workforce Development and the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), and is funded in part by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation.